1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to a sputtering device and a method of forming a layer using the same.
2. Discussion of the Background
As personal computers (PCs), televisions, etc. become lighter and thinner, display devices are also being required to become lighter and thinner. To meet this demand, flat panel display devices such as liquid crystal display devices (LCDs) are replacing cathode ray tubes (CRTs).
An LCD is a display device that obtains a desired image by applying an electric field to a liquid crystal material having dielectric anisotropy injected between two substrates and controlling the amount of light transmitting through the substrates by adjusting the intensity of the electric field. The LCD is a flat panel display that is easy to carry. Of various types of LCDs, thin-film transistor LCDs (TFT LCDs) using thin-film transistors (TFTs) as switching elements are mostly being utilized.
A sputtering device is one of the devices widely used to deposit a thin layer (e.g., a metal thin layer) on a substrate (e.g., a substrate for semiconductor elements or a substrate for LCDs). The sputtering device is considered as one of the important devices essential in manufacturing LCDs.
In the sputtering process using the sputtering device, a thin layer is typically deposited as follows. Power is supplied to a target installed within a chamber, and an inert gas such as an argon gas or an oxygen (O2) gas is injected into the chamber. Then, an electric field is formed between the substrate and the target. The inert gas is ionized by the electric field to create plasma, and ions from the ionized inert gas collide with the target. Here, target particles are emitted from the target, and the emitted target particles are deposited on a substrate (e.g., a substrate for semiconductor elements or a substrate for LCDs) to form a thin layer.
The sputtering device includes a shield mask which has an opening and is disposed between the substrate and the target to form an electric field with the target and a plurality of shield rods which are installed in the shield mask to traverse the opening and allow a uniform electric field to be formed between the target and the shield mask.
However, since the shield rods lie in the path of the target particles heading for the substrate, they may serve as a hindrance to the movement of the target particles emitted from the target. In this case, the uniformity of a thin layer formed on the substrate may deteriorate.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the inventive concept, and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.